Saoirse was assisting a Tech Priest that decided she would serve them in repairing equipment in the Armory. Her House's insistence in teaching their children how to safely clean guns had come in handy; the Tech Priest had taken note in her competence in executing the proper rituals and rites in basic maintenance.
"You are more new to battle, aren't you?" she asked the blonde Astartes before her, clearly unimpressed with the state of his bolter. This was another thing the Tech Priest approved: she had no qualms in chewing out people, no matter their rank, for not taking care of their equipment. "Or do you lack your Primarch's patientce to do basic maintenance?"
"I have been in service for over a century," he said, not at all appreciating the sass the child was giving him.
"Then you would know to regularly oil the inside of the barrel of your guns so they don't have scarring that lead to disaster!" She informed him, pointing the disassembled barrel in the Astartes's face. "Your bolter's barrel is heavily gouged from lack of proper maintenance and is now a ticking time bomb!"
"The Machine Spirit is very displeased as well," the Tech Priest added, also agitated with the state of the Astartes's bolter. "It will take twenty-four Terra hours to fully repair and appease the Machine Spirit."
"I am to be deployed to the planet today." The Astartes's, not at all pleased to hear the news, tried to protest.
"Then you had better start getting into the habit of maintaining your weapons properly before you get yourself and your brothers killed out there," the Tech Priest retrieved the barrel from Saoirse along with the rest of the bolter and walked away to begin the rites to start repairing the weapon.
Saoirse watched the Astartes's leave, meeting up with his ebony skinned brother, before she herself turned around and joined the Tech Priest in the repair work.
"Let us begin," the Priest said and began to chant in binary as the child swung the incense holder above the weapon. Once the initial rites were performed, they cleaned the bolter with blessed oil and special cloth. "Your Machine Spirit is a curious creature."
Invisible to everyone else but herself and the Mechanicus Priests, Gammamon watched them work in his Ghost Form. The little dinosaur Digimon looked transparent in this form, yet he could still interact with the world around him.
"Well, it's not an every day occurrence we get to assist a Tech Priest with their work," Saoirse said, handing over the proper tools to fit a new barrel onto the bolter. The old barrel would need extensive work to be back in working order, so swapping it out was deemed more practical considering the situation.
When she had been assigned to the Tech Priest, she was afraid they'd discover her secret initially, but the Mechanicus appeared to be in the know about Digimon. If anything, they were actively keeping her away from the Company Chaplain and anyone with ties to the Inquisition. They considered her blessed by the Omnissiah for having a Digimon partner and being able to directly speak with Machine Spirits.
"Go and assist Magos Galeo," the Priest ordered her. "This part of the ritual requires intense concentration and precision."
"Understood, honorable Priest," she gave a bow of respect and scampered off with Gammamon following her. Her Digimon partner remained quiet for the most part and randomly moved a tool or object just to prank someone. She firmly whispered, "Gammamon, behave yourself."
He giggled, but stopped the pranks.
Titus approached Magos Galeo's station per the instructions he received. He did not expect to see the child he protected assist the Magos.
"Yours is a face I have not logged for quite some time, Titus," the Magos spoke to Titus.
"You requested my presence," Titus replied.
"How are you acclimating to your new status?"
"I have no complaints."
"Intriguing. Predictions determined a point nine probability that you would-"
"I have pressing duties, Magos," he reminded the mechanical man.
"Very well. Engage the armory terminal. I will see to it you are well equipped for your mission." As Titus engaged the terminal, the Magos addressed Saoirse whom was placing a wall panel back on. "Tamer, if you could monitor the data stream."
"Yes, Magos," the girl sprung up, done with her previous task and took up a data slate.
"I've seen you more times than I'd care to today," Gadriel said when the child got to work.
"The feeling is mutual, greenhorn," she retorted and Titus raised a brow. What did he miss?
"Greenhorn?" the Sargent tilted his head, not knowing what Saoirse just called him.
"Greenhorn is a term used to describe one that is new to their station and has yet to achieve an acceptable level of competence," the Magos explained, not at all mincing his words. "Considering the state of your bolter earlier, the designation appears appropriate."
Chairon actually chuckled at that and Titus couldn't stop the slight smile that crept on his face. Now the Lieutenant was beginning to understand, and it explained why Gadriel was missing a bolter.
"You saved a mouthy one, Lieutenant," Chairon remarked.
"Have you heard anything from your House, little one?" Titus asked the child while he was outfitted with the gear needed for his mission and her demeanor brightened.
"Yes. The Astropath managed to get a message to my grandmother," she bounced on her heels, continuing to observe the data stream. "She and the rest of the House Atrates fleet are on their way to come get me and provide support."
"Atrates?!" Gadriel muttered, clearly surprised. Chairon shared the sentiment while Titus was already aware of the girl's relation to the Rogue Trader House.
"Their assistance would be a great boon," the Magos noted as the terminal disengaged from Titus and the Astartes stepped back.
"Your biometrics look normal. Interface looks stable as well." Saoirse reported confidently.
"You have the blessings of the Omnissiah," the Magos dismissed him then.
"My thanks, Magos," he turned away and rejoined his battle brothers.
"Galeo will do. We have worked together enough for that."
Saoirse couldn't help but feel like something was about to happen. Meeting Titus a third time in the span of two days? Something had to be brewing.
"You did exemplary, Tamer," Magos Galeo's robotic voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Your worries in being a burden are clearly unfounded."
"We still don't know what I'm capable of, Magos," she said, not looking the Magos in the eye. A mechanical appendage rested on her shoulder and nudged her to turn to face him.
"What troubles you, child?" There was no emotion in his voice, but the Magos's actions conveyed his concern.
"I…I just feel like something big is about to happen," she admitted. "Something we are nowhere near ready to face."
The Magos was quiet for a long moment, and then said, "The Omnissiah has guided you this far, and you have heeded His warnings before. I shall confer with the Archmagos once he is onboard to better asses the potential danger. For now, continue your repair work with your Machine Spirit and continue to build your bond."
Despite the lack of humanity in him, hearing the Magos take her worries seriously was a big relief for her.
Another blast shook the area as Cassie and Rasenmon continued to thin the Tyrranid swarm in their path to the location the first terminal instructed her to go to. She kept a safe distance between herself and her target, taking shots at a distance without any Guardsmen or Astartes noticing her. Very rarely did Rasenmon have to step in to deal with a nasty bugger getting too close for comfort.
"These things are just as bad as the Flood," she exclaimed after encountering a massive Tyrranid. "At least they're not parasites." She checked her gun again, a lasgun she picked up from a fallen soldier earlier.
The different weapons compared to the UNSC standard pistol threw her off at first, but employing her uncle's initial weapons training helped her get used to the bulky weapons. It helped that the Mechanicus terminals gave her access to maintenance instructions as well.
"I'll be glad to be back home when this is all done," Rasenmon growled, shaking off the gore from the encounter. "Not being able to move through terminal networks is the worst!"
That was another massive difference they encountered the first day they arrived. The computer terminals were not interconnected in a network like her original world. Back home, she could dive into a terminal in one city and pop out at a completely different continent in a matter of minutes or hours. Here, the terminals were not connected unless the Machine Spirits were awake, making it difficult to travel along network connections enough to make it more practical to walk instead.
"Then let's find out why we're here and get the ball rolling to fix whatever mess we got pulled into," she patted her partner and jogged ahead.
"You've grown a lot these past few months," her partner remarked, catching up to her with little effort. "You used to be scared to hold a gun, and now you're taking shots like a pro."
Cassie slowed, thinking back to the beginning of their adventure. They had survived escaping Reach, the whole Halo fiasco, Halsey kidnapping them to a Forerunner bunker, bouncing around an unstable connection to get to Earth, and lastly the Ark. Did all of that really happen in the span of a few months? It felt like an entire lifetime had passed in that short span. She was still only eleven years old.
"We've been through a lot together," she said. "You've changed too."
Rasenmon just scooped her up and carried her in silence, picking up the pace when her Digi-Bracelet indicated they were close to the Mechanicus temple that was their current objective.